New Jersey

Verified

Imported 2026-09-27 — not yet reviewed; confirm with the admitting authority.

How to apply

Admitting agencyNew Jersey Board of Bar Examiners

Application portalApply online

Character & fitnessThis jurisdiction does not use NCBE's character and fitness services; please contact New Jersey for filing instructions. MPRE/character timing: character & fitness application should be filed with the bar exam application by the jurisdiction's filing deadline; most jurisdictions require the NCBE Character and Fitness Application to be submitted online via ncbex.org regardless of whether NCBE conducts the investigation.

Exam & score rules

Exam typeUBE (legacy); NextGen UBE first administration July 2028

UBE min scoreLegacy UBE: 266; NextGen UBE: TBA

MPRE requiredRequired, minimum score 75

Education requirementABA-approved JD required: Yes; Foreign-educated graduates eligible: No

Other required components

Local law componentNo separate jurisdiction-specific law component required per NCBE data

Other pathsAdmission on motion requires reciprocity (NJ extends only to jurisdictions that would reciprocally admit NJ lawyers by motion) plus a mandatory NJ ethics/professionalism course. No diploma privilege.

Transfer options

Accepts transferred UBEYes (accepts legacy UBE: Yes; NextGen UBE: TBA); max score age: 36 months

UBE transfer acceptedyes

Score age limit3 years

Admission on motion

Allows AOMyes

Reciprocal onlyyes

Years of practice5 of past 7

AOM fee$1,500 (traditional AOM) / $675 (UBE score transfer)

Other requirementsMPRE (75) or NJ-approved PR course; ABA-approved JD required; diploma-privilege admittees NOT eligible. NJ also has a very popular separate UBE score-transfer path (36-month window, $675 fee) distinct from traditional AOM.

Official AOM source

Essays & sample answers

Publishes past essaysyes

Years availableFebruary 2010 through July 2024 confirmed (table of links by administration back to Feb 2010; individual pages e.g. sample-q-a-july-2024, sample-q-a-feb-2023, bar-examination-sample-q-a-july-2019, -october-2020)

Sample answersyes ('Sample Answers' alongside 'Questions' per administration)

Exam typeUBE

Terms of usePages reference NCBE Study Aids link for further prep; no explicit reuse restriction stated beyond that

Essay archive / sample answers Essay archive / sample answers

New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners is a strong, well-organized example — dedicated page per cycle with both MEE/MPT questions and sample answers back to Feb 2010.

Fees & deadlines

Feesfirst_time_applicant: $675; attorney_applicant: $675; repeater: $675; late_fee_note: Late fees reflected in the higher figure(s) shown for the filing-deadline fields above where jurisdiction publishes a two-tier fee; laptop_fee: fee varies

Application deadlinesjuly_2026_regular: March 31; july_2026_late: April 15 / April 30; february_2027_regular: Oct. 31; february_2027_late: Nov. 15 / Nov. 30

Next exam datesUBE jurisdictions administer the exam on the NCBE-set dates, generally the last Tue/Wed of Feb and July; New York has confirmed July 28-29, 2026 for the July 2026 administration. Confirm exact per-jurisdiction dates on the agency site; NCBE filing-deadline data above is confirmed for July 2026 / February 2027.

Possible multi-bar pathways

Researched examples that name New Jersey. Discovery content only — not eligibility approval.

UBE score transfer: NY + NJ

Sit the UBE once in either NY or NJ (or any other UBE state) and transfer the score to the other via NCBE's Official Bar Exam Score Transcript service.

UBE score transfer: PA + NJ

One UBE sitting (in PA, NJ, or elsewhere) can be transferred to both, since both are UBE jurisdictions with similar score minimums and multi-year transfer windows.

New Jersey UBE score-transfer as the 'cheapest/fastest' second bar for NY-admitted attorneys

NJ's UBE-transfer rule (Rule 1:24) is one of the most streamlined nationally: a 266+ legacy UBE score earned anywhere (including in NY, since NY administers the UBE) transfers to NJ for a flat $675 fee, rolling deadlines, within a 36-month window, with no extra NJ-specific local-law course required.

Official sources

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 Source 4 Source 5

NextGen UBE first administration announced for July 2028; Legacy UBE final administration February 2028 per NCBE (min NextGen score TBA as of Sep 2026).

VerdictUp is a study aid and does not provide legal advice or guarantee admission. Confirm with the admitting authority.